TENDER RECALL: A JC MOMENT
by Soquilii
Summary: STAR TREK VOYAGER: An episode twist to "Shattered"


Tender Recall - A J/C Moment 

An episode twist to _Shattered_

By Horsie - 2004

Rated: Racy

A spacial anomaly has fractured the ship into many different time frames. Chakotay of the present and Janeway of the past come together one last time before the effects are reversed. Before their final parting, there is one more thing she wants to know about the future:

Janeway: Mind if I ask you one last question?

Chakotay: Will I have to break the Temporal Prime Directive to answer it?

Janeway: Maybe. Just a little. For two people who started off as enemies, it seems we get to know each other pretty well. I've been wondering – just how close _do_ we get?

Chakotay, taken aback, hesitates. This is one question he hadn't anticipated. Up to now he's been very careful; downplaying events; omitting details; skirting issues._ Should I tell her of New Earth? Should I throw caution to the winds and tell her what we will someday be to one another? Or should I just take her into my arms and show her?_ _For, from the moment she let go of her quest to cure us and began living the life we were given, the gap between us closed and we were one. Life became unbearably sweet. And, as it turned out, unbearably short. If only Tuvok had obeyed her last command..... No, this is Kathryn Janeway of the past. She would be unable to comprehend or believe that we could ever one day be that close...if even for a few weeks._

_It still aches to remember, but those days are carved into my heart; they will be with me always. We had the life of complete freedom I've always yearned for and never found._

_I remember the first time she came into my arms; my heart swelled with a joy that was hard to contain:_

The moon shone down through the trees, casting bright leaf-shadows that the wind ruffled over every surface. _That ridiculous creature had come around on a night such as this._ Chakotay clicked the door to the shelter closed. Extinguishing the remaining lamp, he retired to the small room with the narrow bed, which was all he had to call his own. He missed the comfortable, spacious accommodations on Voyager, but not enough to return...even if he could.

Without bothering to remove his clothing, he lay back, troubled. Kathryn had already gone to bed. Something had upset her; probably her lingering disappointment over her destroyed research materials. She had been so confident of finding a cure and leaving this place; then the storm had smashed her dream to bits. Shaking his head regretfully, Chakotay allowed his eyes to close and drifted into a restless sleep.

Moist night air wafted past his nostrils, waking him. The main door was open. He went forward, peering into the darkness, every sense sharpened. At first, nothing seemed amiss; then, glancing toward the bathtub he had built her, he made out a figure kneeling against it. He softly approached. His shadow alerted her to his presence; she ceased sobbing immediately. He hadn't thought Kathryn Janeway capable of tears. She rose, still facing away from him. He spoke her name softly; after a moment she surprised him by leaning back against his big frame. His arms encircled her for the first time. No, not the first time...he had once before held her, spooning almost intimately, huddling in the shelter as the storm tried to shake them to death. Now, he held her for an interminable time. The wind whispering through the trees, the owl-creature and the crickets somehow stirred the primeval in both of them; and as she turned her face to his, he kissed her. Lightly; allowing her to guide the moment. She faced him, encircling his neck with her arms. So small was she without those Starfleet-issue boots that he had to lean down; the next instant she was cradled in his arms. Holding her tightly, they exchanged another kiss, and another, deeper. Leaf-shadows flickered across her face and his; her hair came loose and cascaded over his arm. He set her back on her feet; watching her eyes for any change at all, as he removed his vest and let it drop. She opened the buttons of the crimson shirt, sliding her hand within. The belt of her robe gave way under his gentle fingers. They were of one mind, but proceeded slowly; cautiously; both aware of the extraordinary event that was taking place. Lying on a bed of discarded clothes on the ground; in the moonlight; the local wildlife their only witnesses, they shared everything they had, then shared again. The star that served as their sun was chasing the night shadows when Chakotay carried her, sleeping, to her narrow bed in the shelter. Later that morning, he brought coffee to her bed; when she smiled tenderly, he knew he had been right to come to her. Now they had much more just a plain gray box; more than shattered equipment; more than forest pets and Talaxian tomatoes; they had each other. For all of three weeks. Then the comm badges chirped, thrusting them back to the place they felt obligated to be.

_Part of me was torn away then. I've never really recovered from its loss. I think she might have felt the same way; I was never sure. I do know we lost more than we gained when Tuvok returned for us._

No, he could not tell her of New Earth. Not now, in this time frame. Her timeline would bring her to it soon enough, and they could relive it. For those few short weeks. After which they would again embrace the barriers that separated them. He looked into those lovely eyes and steeled himself, tightening his belly, drawing breath for the answer that – in this moment – he knew she wanted to hear:

Chakotay: Let's just say... there are some barriers we never cross.

The End


End file.
